Help Wanted!

It started with Zaki...then my husband went down with it and a couple of days ago I got it - something between a cold and the flu.  Coupled with the fact that I sliced part of my left thumb off while chopping an onion, I had a couple of sewing-free days and I'm behind with replying to comments.

Today, boosted by brufen, I thought I would do some no-brainer stitching and make a quilt top for Siblings Together.  

I used a couple of charm packs that I got from my partner Jeanette as extras in the For the Love of Solids swap last year and supplemented them with a few of my own scraps and some low volume charms. It's a pretty mix of blues, oranges, yellows, greens and pinks. It measures 49.5" x  49.5"

*edited to add* I have a lovely helpful now - thank you so much to lovely Jude!

I'm going to put a thread in the flickr group but thought I might mention it here first.  The postage like many places now is prohibitive here in Morocco - especially when sending internationally.  If there is a UK peep who would like to help Lynne's drive for quilts for Siblings Together but perhaps hasn't got the time to make a whole quilt but could, if I sent them this top, assemble it and quilt it then please email me at ajlzeiddaratgmaildotcom. Thank you! Please leave a comment even if you can't help :)

Linking up with Let's Get Aquainted!

Cindy Said Sew

Back at the beginning of March, the lovely Cindy over at Fluffy Sheep Quilting asked for a little help from her friends to make some baby quilts for a quilt festival in Galway this June.  She aims to have lots of new charm packs for sale and needs some quilts to show off what can be made with them! With many of the lines not available until May, she was up against it timewise.

She gave us ideas as to lines we could use and I chose the existing Mama Said Sew as Cindy had it in stock and could get it over to me immediately.

A couple of weeks ago this little ready made quilt kit of loveliness arrived.

So yesterday with temperatures hitting 40° C (104°F),the sensible thing to do would have been not to start the quilt top. Sensibleschmensible. Using this super straightforward Moda Bake Shop pattern I soon had this baby sewn up.

Now anyone who reads this blog regularly will know this isn't my usual colour palette but it's been fun to play with fabrics which I wouldn't normally use and so many of the prints in this line are lovely!

Temperatures are due to drop again at the weekend and then I'm hoping to get this basted, quilted and back off to Cindy next week!

If you don't know Cindy's shop, where have you been? Gorgeous fabrics, solids, Aurifil, perle, amazing service...need I go on?

Pour Le Challenge

While playing with some Liberty charms this afternoon, I reckoned it was about time I make something for Lucy and Nat's monthly challenge aptly named Le Challenge.  Whereever you live in the world, everyone needs a little Liberty love of their own don't they?  So here is a sneaky peek of my make for the challenge - some Liberty tana lawn bricks. I shall reveal all on Monday when the linky opens up.

For more information on Le Challenge, head over here. This month's theme is geometrics and can be interpreted anyway you like and it can be any craft - not just sewing.  Susan has a great guest post today  and there is a great giveaway - a couple of her beautiful geometric inspired pouches.  What's not to love?

F

The One with Lots of Colour

I haven't been blogging much recently but I'm feeling a lot better and the pity party is officially over.

These are the 12 blocks I have received so far from the Care Circle of do.Good Stitches and all from Australia I think.  It was my second  month as quilter in October and I chose Elizabeth's Patchwork Wheel block.  I can't believe six different people made these blocks as they are so incredibly in tune with each other.  I asked for scrappy and I got the most beautiful rainbow blocks.

Thank you lovely ladies of the Care Circle - this is going to be a gorgeous quilt! 

Being machineless has meant that I can get on with an EPP bee block due by the end of the month.  Celine wanted a Row A and a Row B of Katy's Spring Carnival templates using some Liberty lawn fabrics of her own and supplemented with fabric of our own.  This is Row A.

I am really enjoying being in this EPP bee - there is a two month turnaround for each block, and it is great always having a little EPP project on the go.

Had I not been in the bee, I might not have made any Spring Carnival blocks. However, I have and Katy's free templates are perfect and come together pretty easily.

I'm now thinking of a cushion using this gorgeous charm pack of Katherine Wheel, which my lovely Aunt Jan gave me when we were in England back in August.  She picked it up at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham and having met Nel Whatmore declared her absolutely lovely! I'm thinking of using this pretty purple or perhaps navy for the solid background. That will be tomorrow's EPP project.

Lastly, here's a view over the scruffy Marrakech medina south toward the Atlas mountains, which are back! They disappear every year as soon as it gets really hot and then return in the autumn.  If you look really closely (forgive the 'phone quality), you'll notice they are snow capped.  The recent rain has turned to snow and that's why it's now so cold at night! Brrr.